1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an intelligent electric grid management system and method, and in particular to a system and a method that establish a digital code combination of a feeder line controller, a smart meter, and intelligent load receptacle and use power line communication to manage each load of a user end of an electric grid and set up the sequence of power supplying and cutting off power.
2. The Related Arts
Energy is one of the hottest topics of discussion throughout the entire world. People wish to obtain clean and safe energy or better renewable energy and no longer rely on fossil energy and nuclear energy that has potential risk. However, the power generation efficiency of the renewable energies is still very low and does not completely suits the needs of general consumers. For example, wind power generation is generally limited by seasonal winds and solar power generation is generally limited by weather so that the renewable energies that are limited by weather and time are hard to control and use. In such a period of time, the energy conservation principle of the limited electric power would become an important issue. The development of management techniques that allows for efficient and effective use of intelligent household appliances, smart meters, and intelligent electric grids that are derived from household appliances of user ends would be the best solution to ensure no undesired waste of electric power.
On the other hand, a conventional power supply and distribution system comprises a primary power transforming station, a secondary power transforming station, and power feeder lines. Power is supplied through the power supply lines and power distribution lines to a power distribution panel of each household user. The power feeder lines from the secondary power transforming station are each connected to a transformer that is mounted on a pole or installed as a road-side stand and the transformer is further connected to ten or more household user ends to supply AC single-phase three-line 220V, 60 Hz electric power to each household appliance load of each household user. When the power supply capacity of the entire electric grid and the required power consumption capacity get saturated or the supply and demand are no longer in balance, an emergence measure must be taken by supplying spare power capacity. When the spare power capacity is insufficient or the power consumption reaches a peak, the supply of power must be limited. In some countries, one possible solution is to first cut the power supply to the industrial users, and cutoff and limitation of power supply to the household users are the second step. Or alternatively, the supplies of power to the industrial users and the household users are cut off alternately. This would cause severe influence to certain loads that do not tolerate power supply being cut off. For example, a life support system for patients and a caring system for the elder would be severely affected. For user ends, the inconvenience and trouble would result due to power supply being cut off or limited. This solution that cuts off or limits power supply to the users, globally or locally, is not a radical measure for power capacity management of an electric grid and does not meet the needs for effectively managing power consumption capacity.
Related patent documents are known, such as Taiwan Patent I442663, which discloses an intelligent micro electric grid control and management system and an intelligent power consumption management method, wherein a telecommunication network and a cloud application management platform are involved to allow a user (a household user) to use a mobile phone or a computer, through the network or the cloud management platform, to self-manage household power consumption and supplying or cutting off power supplied to loads. This solution is a system and method that only allow the individual user to manage the user of electrical power by themselves and is not suitable for power consumption management for a large electric grid covered by a secondary power transforming station or a community based electric grid so that it does not help much for the power consumption of the entire electric grid, nor does it for power saving. Further, such a solution of using mobile phones and computers, through networks or cloud management platforms, to individually manage household power consumption and supplying or cutting of power supplied to loads is susceptible to hacker invasion of the networks and damage of the could management platform, leading to severe public security issue of power supply and undesired consequences.
Further, Taiwan Patent I441409 discloses a power monitor system, in which multiple power input energy sources are provided for manipulation of power consumption of individual loads of a single household electricity user. Similarly, load management can be done for individual electricity user and it is not possible to be applied to power consumption management and energy saving for an upper-level large electric grid or a community based electric grid. Further, a complicated control system involving individual computers, programmable logic controllers, and a central control panel must be used. Expansion to an entire power supply grid or a community based electric grid would cause an issue of cost and installation of facility and also an issue of being hard to integrate individual pieces of hardware equipment.
Further, Taiwan Patent I 423550 discloses an intelligent breaker integration management system, device, and intelligent distribution box, in which an intelligent breaker integration management system that is made up of a transformer, an electric meter, and an intelligent breaker integration management device is used to monitor and manage household loads of individual household users. In addition to such a complication arrangement, this system needs an operation unit to work with a plurality of breakers. Increasing the number of loads and load circuits would get beyond the capacity of the operation unit so that the entire set of the device must be replaced. Further, a power line communication device is involved, but only for carrying information of power consumption. For the entire equipment for use of power, the indoor wire arrangement system must be significantly changed. For example, the operation unit needs a plurality of control signal lines extending therefrom to be respectively connected to the breakers in order to transmit the control signals VC1-VCN. The greater the number of the loads controlled thereby is, the greater the number of the wires would be. For loads set up at different locations, wire laying is generally a difficult issue and may cause trouble for installation. Further, in case the number of the power supply load of the electricity supply circuits to which the breakers are connected is not one and is actually multiple, such as multiple sockets being connected to the same power supply circuit covered by one breaker, then cutting of power supply might cause overall power failure of certain important loads, such as life support systems and security systems and lead to undesired consequences. Further, such a management system suffers another problem that the system is only suitable for the control of loads of an individual household and cannot be expanded to an entire electric grid. Further, during power cutoff, there is no way to realize the importance level of individual loads or the priority of power cutoff. Simply relying on system power consumption information carried by the power line communication device might lead to consequences of risking the life safety of the users.
Further, Taiwan Patent I437835 discloses a power line network control system and method, in which device identification code is generated with random numbers and a process of broadcasting is taken to prevent repeating of the electric grid identification code and to handle the issue of division of control network. This allows for rough division of power control network, but cannot divide and recognize detail information related to power feeder lines, smart meters, and electric loads, making it not possible to achieve the effectiveness and need of true electric grid control for a true intelligent power consumption and loads.